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Crisis of 1933
The Crisis of 1933,also known as the Great Crisis was a multi-faceted conflict involving the government and Prime Minister, the President, several leftist and communist groups and the reactionary conservative CECAR front. This has often been compared to a modern-day civil war, mostly to the near-contemporary Spanish Civil War, but was nowhere near as large or conflictive. Background In 1919 Brunant fell into an economic slump, due to a general slowdown of industry, leading to a recession. The economy rebounded by 1923 but subsequent growth was rather minimal, which led to communism and socialism rising as a credible force. Popular demand allowed the Communist Front (CF) to participate in elections and Maarten Dolmatoff was elected Prime Minister, serving from 1923-24 and 1925-27. Dolmatoff was then elected president in 1928, and upon taking office quickly entered into conflict with conservative Prime Minister Johan Anderson of the White Party. Dolmatoff increasingly intervened in Congressional and government affairs and there was much friction. Dolmatoff's supporters were opposed to his conservative critics, and following an assassination attempt on the President, felt that the military and much of the government was conspiring against him. Many moderates and conservatives likewise felt that Dolmatoff was attempting to seize control of the country. Sequence of events Roodstad Roodstad, a heavily pro-Dolmatoff town was holding a rally in his support on 8 March 1933 when local police and 8 Royal Guardsmen cracked down on them, killing two and injuring 25. Fearing further action some radical socialist and Communist Front members formed the Rode Allantie (Red Alliance). At first they were only employed for muscle at rallies but they later begin enforcing local CF views, such as actively demanding collective rights for factory workers. Many factory owners were pressured so or were forced to leave their businesses. In certain cases the RA would occupy factories and organize strikes and of particular note, they set fire to the lightbulb factory in July 1933, leading to a military crackdown on the RA and subsequent sporadic clashes between them and the military through to December. During this period the city was not considered to be very safe. Brezonde and Cape Cross In response to the policies of conservative Brezonde mayor Lourens Nadir a number of leftist formed the Esquedra Barzuna (EB), the Brezondian Left. This movement began to pressure individual businesses for more workers' rights. Eventually they began to advocate for a workers' revolution in Brezonde. In April 1933, inspired by activity in Roodstad, they staged a large-scale strike in the city demanding improved rights. EB leader Luispier Fontenoy vowed to create conflict in the city if municipal elections were not immediately held, and on 18 May highly contested elections were held. The EB was able to win through both passive and aggressive coercion and force, and Fontenoy became mayor. Among his first policies was to collectivize factories and large businesses, though many workers were already doing that on their own. Many business owners were forced into hiding or fleeing for safety, especially if they were not quick to support the new administration. Despite the risks the government were able to extract many of these people from the city due to the work of spy Jorge Sanz. On July 7th the Prime Minister ordered the military to move in to restore order, but soldiers in Brezonde refused to act and President Dolmatoff urged them not to act. Much of Cape Cross fell under the control of the EB in early August though there was frequent clashes in the streets with those loyal to the Prime Minister, who formed a group called CECAR. CECAR's member further inflamed the situation by patrolling Koningstad and Cape Cross and attacking leftist workers. Military coup Several Royal Guard officers began plotting against leftist commanders in the military, especially due to their unwillingness to do anything about the crisis in Brezonde. On 12 August, officers moved to arrest and detain leftists in the military. This largely went without incident except for Cape Cross, where there soldiers, sympathetic to their commanders resisted and an armed skirmish ensued. Soldiers were sent to strategic places like Sint-Hendrikstad and Cornel to ensure control, though leftists were able to strike out at the military in both those places. End of the Crisis The deterioration of the situation in northern Brunant led to a worsening situation for Dolmatoff. Eventually, King Johan II refused to back his presidency and decreed that the military go in and restore order. The king's stance after months of neutrality had many surprised, but many rebelling soldiers, who did not want to oppose their king, abandoned their posts to return to the army. Many republican-backing soldiers still resisted, but the situation was increasingly untenable for them and outside of Brezonde and Cape Cross many deserted. The military moved in to Brezonde and over several days in mid-September were involved in street fighting which saw many of EB's members killed or arrested. On 13 September the Royal Guard moved in to Cape Cross, arresting many CECAR and leftists, with no significant clashes. Category:Politics Category:Events